Audi has not been at the forefront of vehicle electrification so far, but it is moving towards the future with fairly solid electric vehicle projections.
A press release from Audi boasts of 3 e-tron fully electric vehicles that are coming by 2019 (while Audi also replaces 5 “core” models with normal polluting engines). Note that the production version of the e-tron Quattro SUV is due next year.
But the truly catchy piece of info is the promise of over 30% fully or partly electric vehicle sales by 2025.
As with the progressive intent of the battery electric e-trons, Audi is planning technology for driverless city cars that will be ready for an initial small rollout by 2021.
Absolutely, the company is looking for a positive way out of the diesel crisis it put itself in. As Audi intends to achieve a proportion of nearly one-third fully or partially electric car sales, it seems that the Board of Management has chosen a clear path.
“Audi plans to launch three new electric models by 2020, after which the brand will gradually electrify models in each of its core series,” the company writes.
“Audi is systematically utilizing Group synergies in order to implement topics of the future even faster and more efficiently.”
In April, Audi and Porsche announced an agreement for the joint development of future vehicle architectures. In collaboration, this forms the support system to amp up Audi’s percentages of electric models. “Part of the cooperation is the development of shared premium architecture for electrification – an effective lever to enhance the competitiveness of electric cars.”
Another change is Audi will take over the leading role within the Volkswagen Group in the development of autonomous driving. “Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH is working on the technology for driverless vehicles in urban environments, which will be applicable in models of various brands. The technology is to be ready for application in a first small series of cars early in the next decade,” Audi notes.
“We are financing our transformation out of our own resources,” said Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance, IT and Integrity. “Our business operations are robust also in the currently challenging situation. On the side of expenditure and investment, our ‘Speed up!’ program is helping us to achieve a high level of efficiency and thus a maximum focus on the topics of the future.”
Taking a look at what people want, CleanTechnica research shows EV drivers want long range, SUVs/CUVs, fast charging, superfast charging, and autonomous driving features. It appears Audi is onto this and will try to fulfill more expectations and desires with the electrified SUV coming next year.
Related Stories:
Audi e-tron quattro Reservations Kick Off In Norway
Audi’s e-tron Sportback Concept Could Be A Blockbuster
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